1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to drill press machines, and, in particular, to pivotable drill press tables.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
Drill presses are used in many industries for constructing articles of manufacture, as well as intermediate products. A typical drill press has a drill press table attached to a support member, which, in turn, is secured to the floor of a shop. Above the drill press table is a drill, saw or other tool which is controllable to drill or cut material placed on the drill press table. A drill press of rigid construction having no flexibility yields only one specific straight-line bore through a piece.
In order to provide additional flexibility in drilling and cutting materials, drill presses with tiltable tables have been developed. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,765,273 and 5,924,827, both to Mora et al., disclose a drill press having a pivotable table. However, the pivotable tables in both of these patents are complex mechanisms with a limited range of movement. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 5,960,531 to Mora et al. discloses a similarly limited tiltable drill press table. Another example of a drill press having a tiltable or pivotable table is found in U.S. Pat. No. 5,634,748 to Brazell et al., which discloses a pivotable table with a limited range of table movement and positioning.
While pivotable tables are known in the art, the prior art drill presses with pivotable tables allow for only a limited range of movement. Further, such drill presses lack positive adjustable stops at the typically desired table angles.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a drill press table that overcomes the deficiencies of the prior art. It is another object of the present invention to provide a drill press with a pivotable table, which has a full and flexible range of movement about a horizontal axis. It is a further object of the present invention to provide a drill press with a pivotable table that has positive adjustable stops at desired table angles.
The present invention is a drill press table having a pivot element on one end of the table. The drill table is mounted to a support member via the pivot element rotatably engaged with a support member bracket. The bracket has at least one bracket recess. The pivot element includes a pivot element plate with a locking mechanism extending through the pivot element plate for removably securing the pivot element to the support member bracket. A bolt is received in an arcuate slot in the pivot element plate so that the ends of the arcuate slot provide positive stops at extreme tiltable positions of the drill table at 90xc2x0 and 45xc2x0 from horizontal. Finally, the pivot element includes a detent mechanism, which at least partially engages with the bracket recess for indicating a desired position.
In another embodiment, the present invention is a drill press table including a support member having a bracket with a plurality of bracket recesses. At least one of the plurality of bracket recesses corresponds to an extreme tiltable position of the drill table, and the drill table is pivotally connected to the support member bracket. A pivot element plate is connected with the drill table, and a detent mechanism is connected to the pivot element plate. This detent mechanism at least partially engages with the plurality of bracket recesses, thereby indicating a desired position and providing a positive stop at the extreme tiltable position of the drill table.
The present invention, both as to its construction and its method of operation, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, will best be understood from the following description of specific embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawings.